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Speakers urge Hope Village reopening and challenge Longview utility tax; resident alleges councilmember intimidation
Summary
Public commenters urged the reopening of Hope Village with volunteer partnerships, criticized low outreach response for the Annual Action Plan, and Jeremiah Casey argued Longview’s charge of a 2.215% utility tax to outside-city customers is unlawful; a resident alleged unprofessional and intimidating conduct by Councilmember Wayne Nichols.
Several members of the public spoke during non‑agenda and hearing comment periods. Dawn Johnson Deal said she emailed a statement about reopening Hope Village and said she has identified roughly 50 people who could be served; she requested a tour and described potential volunteer supports including pet accommodation, gardens, volunteer meal pickup and gallery opportunities for residents to sell art.
Jeremiah Casey, who identified himself at the podium, urged the council to stop applying a 2.215% utility tax to customers outside city limits and argued the practice violates Washington state precedent, citing Barbara v. Vancouver and District 75 v. Seattle as legal context for his assertion. He described Longview’s current approach as passing a city tax to nonresidents and said that Washington law does not authorize such a charge to outside-city water or sewer customers.
Daryl Van Denter criticized staff outreach for the Annual Action Plan, noting three responses out of 38 solicitations and saying that level of response was insufficient for meaningful community engagement.
During non‑agenda comments a resident raised a public complaint about Councilmember Wayne Nichols’ behavior at a Longview School Board meeting on 05/11/2026, alleging that Nichols mocked a parent, laughed at a speaker, staged an intimidating stare, and later drove aggressively in the parking lot. The resident asked the mayor and council to take note of the alleged conduct. The transcript records the allegation but does not record a response or investigation by the council during the meeting.
Quotes (attributed): “I would like to arrange a tour of Hope Village… I will find those 50 homeless people,” Dawn Johnson Deal said. Jeremiah Casey said, “Longview is violating this rule as well,” when describing his view of the utility-tax practice. The resident who raised the complaint said the councilmember’s actions were “intimidation to a citizen of Longview.”
What happens next: Comments are recorded in the meeting minutes. The council did not take immediate action on Hope Village or the utility tax during the meeting; any formal follow-up would require staff or council initiation outside the public-comment period.
